Justice parents upset over school bus ban

August 24, 2009

Like other children who live in the Sunset Lake Apartment complex in south suburban Justice, for much of her 13 years Justyce Williams got picked up by a school bus and dropped off in front of her apartment.

But because managers at the sprawling housing complex initiated a ban on school buses this year, Justyce and more than 200 other students must catch the bus outside the gated entry -- a grassy area without a sidewalk that runs along a busy street and across from an industrial tractor-trailer site with heavy traffic.

The ban -- which was announced just days before school started last week -- has outraged parents and village and school officials, who claim the children are at risk.

On Monday, Argo Community High School District 217, along with Indian Springs School District 109, petitioned in Cook County Circuit Court for a temporary restraining order on the school bus ban, officials said. A judge is expected to rule this week.

"These bus routes have been used for decades. There is no good reason to change them now," District 109 Supt. Jon Nebor said. "When the buses line up on the public street they are stopping traffic. Our board is totally opposed to this ban, and we feel that this is unfair and unsafe for the children."

The manager and owner of Sunset Lake Apartments did not return calls Monday so it's unclear why the ban was initiated. School officials said they were not given a reason.

Officials said the ban -- which caught them off guard -- likely would discourage kids from attending school.

"Some of these kids struggle, and picking them up at their house is the best way to get them to and from school safely," said District 217 Supt. Kevin O'Mara.

He also mentioned the ban's effect on special-education students who live in the complex. "This change in their daily routine throws them off for the whole day. They are confused, disoriented. They are asking what's going on. It's hard to look them in the eye because I don't have answers to give them."

The entrance to the complex -- the only way in or out -- is up to a third of a mile from the farthest apartment building, and there is no sheltered area where the students can wait.

"Nobody likes it," said Justyce, a freshman at Argo. "We'll have to stand out there in the dark in the winter mornings. We have to stand there in the rain."